Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

SHENZHEN recorded an average of 1.48 million vehicle trips a day during the Spring Festival holiday between Feb. 11 and Wednesday, up by 85.5 percent over the same period last year, statistics from Shenzhen police showed.

The massive number of vehicle trips meant crowded traffic in Dapeng Peninsula, near Dameisha and Xiaomeisha beaches in eastern Shenzhen and around the parks and scenic spots in other parts of the city. However, traffic flows on expressways and other arteries were smooth, the police said.

The number of vehicles leaving the city was 1.34 million trips during the seven-day holiday, up by 16.8 percent over the same period last year. The number of vehicles coming to the city was 1.29 million trips, up by 24.26 percent. Compared with the pre-festival period, the number of vehicles on the roads increased in all districts except Yantian and Pingshan. The most increases seen were in Dapeng with 240 percent, followed by Futian with 208 percent, and Guangming with 130 percent.

During the holiday, about 32,200 vehicles a day headed east of the city, including 19,700 vehicles to Dapeng, up by 30 percent over the same period last year, police statistics showed.

Lifting restrictions on nonlocally registered vehicles  between Feb. 7 and Feb. 26 also attracted 415,000 nonlocal vehicles during the Spring Festival holiday, up by 107 percent over the same period last year.

Traffic police seized 58 drivers for driving under the influence of alcohol during the holiday, including 30 who drove drunk.

Police also sent 12,000 officers to patrol on roads and at traffic terminals, parks and business centers to ensure holiday safety.

Nationwide, the number of passenger trips reached over 77.24 million in the first six days of the Spring Festival holiday, official data showed.

From Feb. 11 to Tuesday, the country reported 17.47 million railway trips, 54.82 million road trips as well as 2.42 million trips through waterway transportation, according to the Ministry of Transport (MOT).

The civil aviation sector operated 2.53 million passenger trips during the period, MOT data showed.

The flow of highway traffic amounted to 176.65 million vehicles.